Best Restaurants in Corfu Town: Where to Eat in the Old Town

Getting your bearings in the Old Town

Think of the Old Town in three parts for eating purposes. The Liston arcades give you the grand, open-air, people-watching side facing the Esplanade; the lanes off Nikiforou Theotoki are the shopping-and-patisserie spine; and the Old Fortress side has the water, the swimming spot and the sailing club. The three are close enough to walk between, but criss-crossing them between courses wastes the pleasant part of an evening.

Use the landmarks as anchors rather than addresses alone. Aubergine Cafe sits next to the Palace of St Michael and St George at Kapodistriou 110, Pane e Souvlaki is opposite the town hall on Gkilford 77, and Bochotis Patisserie sits under the archways at Nikiforou Theotoki 25. Knowing which of these is near your next stop tells you more than a house number in a lane that changes name twice.

The wider island deserves its own days rather than being folded into an Old Town lunch. If you plan to move around, line up your Old Town meal with a morning of sightseeing so you are not travelling back and forth in the heat.

How to choose: view versus value, harbour versus back street

The clearest split in Corfu Town is between view and value. Rooftop and waterfront tables sell the outlook, and the published rooftop guide describes several terraces as small, booking-friendly and weather-dependent, with some reachable by lift and others only open in warm, dry conditions. Back-street tavernas and souvlaki counters sell the food cheaper and simpler, without a skyline attached.

Lunch and dinner are different decisions. A souvlaki counter or a patisserie works perfectly in the middle of a sightseeing day, while a rooftop or a sailing-club table is better saved for the evening when the heat drops and the light does something for the view. Somewhere open from brunch through to cocktails, such as Sway, can absorb either end of the day.

Harbour-side and fortress-side seats come with a premium and a walk; inner-lane tables come with shade and quieter service. Neither is wrong, but pick one per meal rather than trying to get both, and reserve the view for the meal where you plan to linger.

Souvlaki and quick meals near the town hall

Souvlaki is skewered meat, usually pork or chicken, grilled and served either on a skewer with bread and sides or wrapped in pita with tomato, onion and sauce. Pane e Souvlaki on Gkilford 77, in front of the town hall, specialises in it and serves it straight from the grill, with starters, sides, wines and beers alongside. The published account notes the outside tables are consistently busy and that takeaway is available.

It is also one of the easier places in the centre for plant-based eaters, with falafel wraps, salads and hummus listed among the vegan choices. That combination of meat grill and meat-free options makes it a practical group stop rather than a compromise.

Expect a casual, fast turnover meal. If you want a sit-down dinner with a view, this is not the venue; if you want to eat well and get back to the Fortress or the Esplanade while it is still light, it fits neatly.

Fish and seafood: grilled versus fried

Mare Misto at 12 Markora Gerassimou is a small, casual room in turquoise, known for simple fish cooked plainly, with the fish coming fresh each day from the nearby market. Grilled fish is the headline, with fried fish and a selection of sides and appetisers also on offer. For anyone weighing up the best fish restaurant in Corfu Town, the practical test here is whether you want a tiny room with a short, market-led menu rather than a harbour table with a long list.

Fava, if you see it alongside the fish, is a purée of yellow split peas served as a starter, often with olive oil and capers, and it is a mild counterpoint to grilled fish. Ordering one grilled fish to share plus two or three vegetable starters usually covers a small table better than ordering several fish dishes.

Because the menu follows the market, what is available shifts. Ask what came in that morning rather than planning around a specific species, and check the day's offering before settling in.

Sit-down Greek and Mediterranean menus

Sway Bar and Kitchen, at Kapodistriou and Agion Panton not far from the Liston, is described as a grand corner building with outdoor seating and a menu that runs from brunch and breakfast through the rest of the day, with grilled octopus singled out and a large cocktail list. That all-day range is useful when you want one table for a late morning and another round later without moving.

Bellissimo at Nikiforou Theotoki 79 sits at the end of a narrow cobbled alley that opens onto a quiet square, and despite the Italian name it is recommended for home-cooked Greek dishes alongside pizza. The fried zucchini balls are the dish named in the write-up, and the salads are flagged as very large, which matters if you are ordering several plates for a group.

For anyone assembling a shortlist of the best restaurants in town, the distinction to hold onto is that these two are full-service, sit-down options with broad menus, unlike the counter-style and single-focus places elsewhere on this list.

Vegetarian and vegan eating near the Palace of St Michael and St George

Aubergine Cafe at Kapodistriou 110, tucked beside the Palace of St Michael and St George, serves homemade vegetarian and vegan versions of Greek classics including gyros, moussaka and pastitsio, plus vegan desserts and homemade vegan ice cream. Gyros is the pita wrap of shaved meat, here made plant-based; moussaka is the layered aubergine dish; pastitsio is baked pasta with a spiced filling and a creamy top.

The setting helps: outdoor tables face the square, and the published account describes it as a pleasant spot for an evening glass of wine. Because the kitchen reworks familiar taverna dishes rather than building a separate plant-only menu, it also suits mixed groups where only one person is avoiding meat.

Greek island cooking leans heavily on fish and meat, so a dedicated plant-based kitchen is worth planning around rather than stumbling upon. If you are building a broader eating plan, this is the kind of stop that belongs in a guide to Corfu food rather than an afterthought.

Pastries, biscuits and ice cream between meals

Bochotis, also written MPochotis, is a patisserie under the archways at Nikiforou Theotoki 25, with glass counters of cakes, biscuits, sweets and pastries and an unusually wide vegan dessert selection. It also claims to make its ice cream by hand using Greek ingredients, which makes it a sensible mid-afternoon stop rather than a full meal.

Local biscuits are the practical souvenir here: they travel better than ice cream and survive a ferry crossing. Buy them early in the day so they are not crushed under a bag full of beach gear.

For a Corfiot sweet thread to follow after the trip, the island's kumquat products run from spoon sweets to liqueur, and the small orange fruit turns up in bars and shops across town.

Rooftops and terraces in and around town

Corfu Town has a small cluster of genuine rooftop tables. Arcadion Bistrot, on top of the Arcadion Hotel in the centre, looks toward the fortress and seats only a handful of tables, with booking available and a deposit scheme reported; Cavalieri Roof Garden looks over the city and is described as busy and table-packed; Naok Azur is a seafront terrace rather than a true roof, with all-day service and a livelier night-time mood.

Three more terraces sit outside the Old Town: Sky View in Kanoni, which faces the runway and is aimed at plane-spotters; La Veranda Di Corfu at the Corfu Holiday Palace hotel in Kanoni, with views toward Mouse Island; and Vertigo Sky Bar about 30 minutes south of town. They are not Old Town venues, so do not plan a walk home through the lanes from them.

Book ahead for sunset, and expect the rooftop to depend on warm, dry weather. La Veranda reservations were reported to be slow by email and had to go through the hotel, and the same rooftop visit ran into an unadvertised wedding, so confirming both the table and any private event is worthwhile.

The Old Fortress setting: Corfu Sailing Club

The Corfu Sailing Club restaurant is the most easily missed address on this list because the route is not obvious. Enter the Old Fortress, bear left past the music school, follow the sounds, then take the slope down to a small beach, one of the few places to swim in Corfu Town; the restaurant is to the left of the beach.

All seating is outdoors, and the published account calls the setting peaceful, with a view and the sound of cicadas as much a part of the meal as the food. Dishes such as squid with fava are described there, so this is a table to choose for location first and menu second.

Because the approach runs through the fortress grounds and down a slope, it suits shoes you can walk in and a plan that does not involve rushing. Go before sunset, when the light on the water is the reason to be there.

Mapping a day so you are not walking back and forth

A workable shape for one day starts with the Old Fortress and the sailing club beach in the morning, then a souvlaki lunch near the town hall, then the Palace of St Michael and St George with Aubergine beside it, and finally a rooftop or Sway for the evening. That route moves in one direction through the centre rather than doubling back.

If you would rather anchor the day around sights, pair the Liston and the Esplanade with a patisserie stop at Bochotis and a taverna lunch in the lanes, then take a taxi out to Kanoni for a terrace dinner with the runway and Mouse Island in view. Keep the Kanoni evening as a separate outing, not a detour between two Old Town meals.

For travellers staying longer than a couple of nights, a food-focused walk or cooking session can fill a morning that would otherwise be spent choosing between similar menus.

Dish glossary in plain English

Souvlaki is grilled skewered meat served on the skewer or wrapped in pita; gyros is the wrap of shaved meat with salad and sauce, here also made plant-based; moussaka is baked aubergine layered with a spiced filling; and pastitsio is baked pasta with a creamy top. Fava is a yellow split pea purée served as a starter, not a bean salad.

Ordering a few starters to share is the usual way to eat in a taverna, with grilled fish or meat as the centrepiece. If you want to explore the island's own cooking beyond the Old Town, Corfu sofrito, a braised veal dish with garlic and parsley, is the classic local plate to look for.

Drinks follow the same pattern: local wine by the carafe, beer with souvlaki, and kumquat liqueur as a sweet digestif. A bar's cocktail list, as at Sway, is a separate pleasure from a taverna carafe, so pick according to the evening rather than the meal.

Practical notes before you go

Reserve for rooftop and sunset tables rather than walking up, and ask whether a deposit applies. The rooftop write-ups note small table counts, lift access at some venues and none at others, and weather-dependent opening, all of which argue for contacting the venue directly instead of relying on an old review.

Menus and hours change with the season, and the sources here do not list current opening days or closing dates for any of these places. Check each venue's own page or phone before building a day around it, especially outside high summer, and reconfirm any table booked months in advance.

For a wider shortlist beyond the Old Town, including coastal villages, the island guide to tavernas and the Paleokastritsa restaurant round-up are the natural next reads.

If you would rather cook than order, a hands-on session covering local dishes can fill a morning and give the rest of the trip some context.

Plan Your Corfu Town Meals

Build the day around one view meal and one value meal rather than trying to have both at every sitting. Keep the Old Town lanes for souvlaki, fish and patisserie stops, and treat rooftops and Kanoni terraces as separate evenings with a booking and a weather check.

Confirm hours, table availability and any deposit directly with each venue, since none of that is fixed across the season. With a shortlist grouped by meal style and the landmarks as anchors, a Corfu Town food day needs very little improvisation.